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30 December 2015

At just twenty-five years old, Elinor has landed the job of her dreams: She’s going to be Merry the Advice Fairy for the Snowflake Valley Gazette. She’s ecstatic that she’s about to embark on a fun, cushy career while living in the cutest, quaintest town she’s ever known.

She’s barely settled into her desk at work when that famous Snowflake Valley shimmer starts to fizzle. The real Snowflake Valley bears little resemblance to the picture postcard tourist destination she and her family loved when she was a child. Her new co-workers are uninspiring, to say the least, and the problems that people are submitting to the Gazette are much weightier than what she was expecting.

Losing faith in herself, Elinor considers cutting her losses and moving on. However, the attention of hot young reporter Nile might be enough to get her past her chilly start in Snowflake Valley, and back to seeing its charm once again.

On December 19th another promising festive-themed short story was released, namely Holly Tierney-Bedord's 'The Snowflake Valley Advice Fairy'. Holly e-mailed me about her novella and I straight away loved the sound of it. So, the morning of Christmas Day I snuggled up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and dove straight into this quick and festive read; what better way to start Christmas than with a great romance story, right?

'The Snowflake Valley Asvice Fairy' tells the story of twenty-five-year-old Elinor who is incredibly excited to take on her new job as Merry the Advice Fairy for the local paper in the cute town of Snowflake Valley. Elinor can't wait to help people with their problems and to finally live in the town she loved so much when she visited it when she was still a little girl. However, it doesn't take long before Elinor realises the town is not exactly what she hoped it would be and her colleagues aren't the most supportive either. Elinor is almost ready to give up, but might there be something, or someone, to convince her of staying and giving both the job and village another chance...?

This was my first time checking out one of author Holly Tierney-Bedord's works and an experience I thoroughly enjoyed! I really loved the storyline of this novella, namely protagonist Elinor taking on a new job as an advice columnist for a local newspaper. I loved reading the letters people wrote to Elinor, and her trying to think of ways to help them. This could easily be a great plotline for an entire novel; definitely a novel I'd love to pick up, especially in combination with the author's comfortable and well-paced writing style.

Next to the main storyline, there was also a touch of romance, of course. I personally would have liked a bigger focus on the romance aspect of the novella, but I understand there's limited space in a novella like this! Overall, I thought it was a thoroughly entertaining festive novella, and a great introduction to a new author! 'The Snowflake Valley Advice Fairy' is a fun and festive romance novella, perfect to pick up on a cold or rainy December morning, or just whenever you feel like a quick read!